DAGGER

ABOUT THE BRAND

DAGGER takes its name from the ceremonial blade used in pagan rituals – a symbol of beginnings, endings, and transformation. Luke Rainey founded the brand in 2020 after losing his job and being left with a cold dismissal letter wishing him “all the best,”. Those words became fuel. He stamped them on the back of DAGGER’s first design and they’ve been the brands infamous slogan ever since. Raised in a small town in the North of Ireland in the early 2000s, cash was scarce but skate was currency. That spirit still runs through every stitch: clothes made to be worn hard, built from working class grit, inspired by the memories, people and places that make us who we are.

ABOUT THE COLLECTION 

Play Hard is a love letter to growing up in Portrush, a working-class seaside town on the edge of the North of Ireland. Surrounded by boarded-up arcades and harsh coastal weather, skateboarding became an escape, a culture, and a way to form identity when opportunity was limited. The collection draws from winter nights at home capturing a feeling that is both beautiful and quietly unsettling: empty arcades, distant sounds, fog, and flashing lights. Each look is rooted in personal memory, reflecting resilience, freedom, and creativity shaped through scarcity. Play Hard is not about perfection, but about rough edges, fragility, and the strength found in community. The collection is supported by brands that have been part of the designer’s life then and now: VANS is featured with hand-customised versions of his favorite pairs worn by every model. Another deeply personal object, the Eastpak Pack’r backpack covered in drawings and patches, is recreated as a symbol of youth, survival, and belonging.

All images are available at the official Berlin Fashion Week MEDIA HUB.